X Men Apocalypse (AU)
by malloryhowlett
Summary: After DOFP, the characters move on, the X Men rebuilt and Erik in solitude. In 2021, Logan returns from travelling to discover a new arrival. Mallory Howlett, his daughter from the alternate timeline he never experienced; is in trouble, and is the host of Apocalypse, cursed with his presence until he reaches power. Logan realises that the hole in his heart was for her all along.
1. AN

**Hello! This story is one I have been wanting to upload in full for a very long time now. I originally wrote this story when I was about 14 (almost a decade ago!) before FC, DOFP and Apocalypse were released. Due to the storylines, and alternate timeline - my previous story became a farce and I decided to retire it.**

 **Over the past six months I have entirely rewritten it, which is just over 50k words. Especially now I have graduated University - my writing is a lot better and I have found my love for intricate and descriptive writing, which is what you will see.**

 **I have written this without watching Apocalypse, only noting bits and pieces and reading the storyline, as I did not want to get put off writing this.**

 **THIS WILL BE IN TWO STORIES.**

 **You will see that the story is entirely different to the actual movie Apocalypse, with small details that I have included into it which will make sense eventually.**

 **I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I loved writing it.**


	2. News Report

_London, England. February 13_ _th_ _2021, 10.35pm._

"Debrief me on what you know Officer."  
"Female, late fourties, suffered fatal lacerations to her arms. Also severe bruising around neck, thought to be from previous attempts at suicide. Crime scene will be in shortly, but we consider this suicide Detective…"  
"Was she one of them?"  
"Unknown as of yet Sir, the daughter is known to us as a level five, discharged from the asylum three weeks ago."  
"Discharged? No one gets discharged from Eden, are you sure?"  
"Yes Sir, we found the folder and got confirmation."  
"Where is she now?"  
"Officers found her in Hyde Park half an hour ago, she's under surveillance and being taken into custody"  
"Good, even if this is a suicide…I'll be damned before I let a freak get free on my watch. Find anything you can, rip this place apart if you have to"  
"Yes Sir."

 _Westchester, New York, February 14th 2021_

"You called us Professor?"  
Charles looked up from his desk and noticed Scott's head appear from behind the door, his brow furrowed in confusion.  
"Of course Scott, please, take a seat" Charles replied, beckoning towards the seating area in his office. As Scott pushed opened the door and walked in, Jean and Rogue followed behind and Charles stifled a smile. He was still unfamiliar with having a crowded school once again, let alone seeing his most treasured students alive and well, entirely unaware of destruction that he had seen fall upon them in another time.

Within moments, the entire group had assembled in a circle and awaited further instructions. Rogue, Jean, Pete, Scott, Bobby, Kitty and Storm looked across to Charles with baited breath, curious for the sudden need of a meeting as he wheeled himself into the circle.  
"Last night, I became aware of an incident relating to a particular mutant located in London, that I think we should address…before I continue, I must show you a news report that is currently being broadcast worldwide"  
Charles looked up at the large television screen and blinked as it began to play, showing a female news reporter standing outside a cornered off entrance to an apartment block with police patrolling outside.

 _ **'At four o'clock on the 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **of February, a woman was found dead in her bathroom, with multiple lacerations to her arms and chest, and the weapon beside her. Emma James was seen a few days beforehand, allegedly looking gaunt and underweight. Her daughter, Mallory Howlett had recently been discharged from the Eden Mutant Asylum, and was said to be in the flat at the time of Emma James' death. She was in custody until this morning but was mysteriously released on unknown conditions...'**_

The reporter disappeared off the screen, and two images appeared. The left was of a woman who had jet black hair and piercing blue eyes, she had paper white skin, and her cheeks looked sunken-in, showing signs of fatigue and illness. On the right was a girl who had dark brown hair, and the same eyes as her mother.  
Charles switched off the television screen and allowed everyone to turn back to face him in silence.  
"So, this girl was part of the Eden Programme?" asked Storm. "How did she get out?"  
"We don't know as of yet, all we know for certain is that she's a level five mutant…"  
"Wait, only Jean is level five…how did we not know about her?" Scott challenged, looking at Jean as she turned away, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.  
"Jean is not the only level five Scott, there are very few…but yes, they were somehow able to contain her completely away from us."  
"What's the Eden Programme?" asked Rogue, holding Bobby's hand worried.  
"There are underground projects running all over the world which are focused on 'understanding the genetics and development of mutants', the Eden Programme is the leading institution which hospitalises the most unreliable mutants and…" began Charles until he noticed Storm shaking her head and clenching her jaw in anger.  
"Just say it Charles, you know what they do is illegal…they do barbaric experiments on them and treat them like animals."  
"Wait, what…how is that being funded?" asked Bobby.  
"They have their hands in the government and the media, there is no way they would ever be exposed" exhaled Jean.  
"So why are we talking about her now, what's all this got to do with us?" Rogue wondered, when the door opened and a large blue figure walked in holding a large file.  
"Because Rogue, we were originally in plans with them to get her transferred here, but she was suddenly discharged and their database wiped of her existence over the past ten years. We trawled through everything to find her, but she was nowhere to be found-"  
"-Wait, how old's this girl?" questioned Storm, her brows furrowing as she attempted to connect the dots.  
"She's twenty one years old, Ororo…" Charles sighed, recognising and understanding her shock at the realisation. "She was taken in and declared the Programme's property at the age of eleven."  
"We eventually found her through the British news reports, so she was immediately extracted from the police hold and currently being transferred. She will be safer here…in all aspects" Hank stated as he walked towards Charles and passed him the file. They exchanged quick eye contact in agreement and Charles placed the file on the desk, away from the group.  
"Can I just say something?" Kitty's voice echoed through the silence, her chest tightening as she saw everyone turn towards her expectantly. "Did no one listen to what her name was…Mallory… _Howlett_?"  
"Professor, isn't that…Logan's last…?" Storm questioned, her eyes widening in disbelief.

"We have grounds to belief that she may be of some relation to Logan" Charles exhaled. "But we cannot confirm until she arrives here and Logan returns from Canada"  
"Speaking of arriving…" Peter answered as he looked outside the window and noticed a taxi pull up the driveway.


	3. Arrival

"Rogue…Rogue, what are you doing?" hissed Bobby as he walked out of the Games Room to see her peering over the edge of the staircase. She spun around to face him, raised her finger to her lips and beckoned him closer.  
"No Rogue, this has nothing to do with us, only the Professor and…" Bobby started as Rogue's forehead crinkled in to an irritated glare which silenced him immediately.  
"It has everything to do with us, why has Logan never spoken about her before if she's supposed to be family?" she whispered. "I bet she's a fraud…"  
"Charles and Hank know what they're doing…you can't take this girl on just because you've got some kind of relationship with Logan" Bobby sighed, as Rogue rolled her eyes and turned to look back over the banister. "Besides, they don't know yet if she is or not…I'm sure they'll tell us when we need to know."  
"I just want to see what she looks like, Bobby…there's nothing wrong with being curious" she stated.

At that moment, the sound of the entrance doors echoed through the corridor and Rogue grabbed Bobby's arm and pulled them both back so they could remain hidden.  
"Down this corridor you will find the classrooms for the younger students, my office and the staffroom…we also have a wide range of extracurricular activities here that I hope you will consider once you are ready." Charles' voice resonated, as well as the sound of footsteps growing closer towards the stairway.  
"We understand that this situation is incredibly daunting and quite raw considering the circumstances, but we are a safe haven for mutants, we are a school and above all, a sanctuary…if you so wish it to be Mallory." Hank assured.  
"Thanks…I guess" a woman's voice mumbled, which instantly caught Rogue's attention. She took a single step forward and strained her eyes to obtain a better glimpse of her.

With her back to Rogue, all she could see was a copious amount of dark brown hair, waving its way down to the bottom of her back, and a small frame underneath, although the stance that Mallory was taking was of confidence; with her straight posture and head held high.  
"I see this is the new arrival!" Storm's voice started as she entered through from the Atrium, causing Mallory to turn around and provide Rogue what she wanted. As they all resumed talking, Rogue noticed that her wardrobe was similar to the male that she was determined to protect. She wore a black vest and a red plaid shirt underneath a dark denim jacket; ripped black jeans and distressed black boots, whilst holding an old, haggard brown bag over her shoulder. Her facial features were small, like her mother's in the news image but they were compensated for by her blue eyes which illuminated her face, and also made Rogue's spine tingle when they flicked up to where she was standing, staring straight into Rogue's eyes. She jumped back in to Bobby, hoping that it was just a coincidence and that she had not been caught.  
"We have a room available for you, unfortunately it is in the staff section as everywhere else is taken until the summer vacation…but that means you have your own bathroom, which I think is…" Storm began.  
"That's fine" Mallory answered bluntly, her lips lifting to the side slightly to force a smile.  
"Well, we shall let Storm take you to your room to let you get accustomed" Hank smiled. "I assume the rest of your belongings will be here shortly?"  
"There's nothing else" she stated.  
"Oh…" Hank mumbled, regretting his thoughtless previous question.  
 _"I will knock on your door at eight thirty to go through any questions you might have, and to talk about the situation at home, I am here to help, I will help you."_ Charles spoke directly to Mallory, and she nodded partially in agreement.  
As they parted ways, Rogue returned to the staircase and exhaled deeply, her hands clenching tightly on the wood as she grinded her teeth together.

* * *

So you've met Mallory, and had a tiny insight into the type of person she is, her past, and how dark Eden Asylum is  
(well, the creator of Eden is Stryker so, obviously it would be!)  
In the next chapter Logan will return.

I shall upload a chapter every few days, so keep coming back! If you like this story please like, follow and leave me a comment!

Thanks! MH


	4. Fatherhood

Later on, that same evening, Hank arrived back from a long walk through the mansion grounds, and collapsed into his chair. He pulled off his tie and undid his top button as he exhaled deeply.  
In front of him, laid out on the table was a worn leather folder, which were crammed full of papers and coloured separators – a post it note was placed on the top.

 _'The results requested are at the top, I think you will find it interesting. Will place a meeting tomorrow.'_

Instantly recognizing Charles' writing, Hank stared at it, deciding whether it was a good idea to find out the answer to the question he was dreading the answer to.  
He placed his hand on top of it and pulled it towards him. He opened the folder and looked at the first piece of paper. As he read it aloud, his voice fell into a groan.

 ** _The Paternity test requested by Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters concludes that the patient Mallory Howlett has 100% match to the patient Logan Howlett. Therefore, the two patients are definitively biologically father and daughter._**

"Shit-" he sighed, leaning his head into his right hand. He then began flicking through the folder frantically searching, before stopping at a laminated birth certificate.  
There was no signature for the father.  
Hank bit his lip and threw the papers back down onto the table, before storming out of the office.

 _March 10_ _th_

As Scott locked up the door to the Languages classroom, he felt the warmth of a hand brush his shoulder and instantly smiled knowing that it was his wife, Jean greeting him.  
"Finished already?" she questioned, as he turned to face her. "I thought you had a double class?"  
"Yeah well, I got orders from the Professor that he needs us in the sub-floor office at four, I think it might be something to do with Logan and that girl." Scott replied, leaning down to kiss her.  
"That's why I'm here…" she sighed, leaning away slightly as she prepared herself for his change in emotion. "Logan got back about an hour ago, Charles asked me to say hi and take him to his office first, to y'know…tell him the news."  
Scott's face fell into an exasperated frown and he crossed his arms.  
"Scott, you need to stop being like this, he hasn't made a move on me in years…catch him a break, he'll need one" she persuaded, rubbing her hands up and down Scott's arms in reassurance. "I'll see you in an hour, okay?"  
Scott nodded back reluctantly, and attempted to kiss her again, to which Jean happily returned.

As Logan threw the last of his shirts carelessly in to a drawer, he collapsed onto the double bed and exhaled deeply, a hint of a smile flew across his face as he felt glad to be back. Although he had to disappear regularly to keep tabs on Bolivar Trask in Washington; the new life Logan had, gave him a chance at renewing his wrongs, ensuring his slate was clean. Adapting the timeline had not changed the past completely, he still had the history with Rogue, his adaptation from Stryker and hell, Erik still became the leader of the opposing side, but there was a new chance for them all.  
His reverie was interrupted by a sudden knock at his door; he grumbled as he sat up on his bed and violently rubbed his face in his hands, attempting to make himself look more awake.  
"Yeah?" he called, looking towards the door. It opened and Jean appeared, smiling at him with the smile that causes his chest to tighten every time.  
"Hey you, where you been?" she asked.  
"Just had some business Hank needed me to take care of up in DC, anything change while I was gone?" he questioned, hoping that she did not completely notice the diversion of her question.  
"Funnily enough, that's why I'm here…the Professor needs to see you in his office" she answered, biting her lip nervously.  
"His office?" he wondered. "You know why?"

Jean hesitated, seeing his brows fall into a concerned frown. She knew that he could see straight through her so lying was hopeless. He felt his throat dry up as he noticed her begin to shuffle on the spot nervously.  
"I think so…" she started, before Logan took a step towards her.  
"And?' he enquired impatiently. "Is it serious?"  
"Honestly…I don't know." Jean sighed truthfully.  
With such a vague answer, Logan's patience had run out. He knew he was possibly over-reacting, but he could not be sure. He stormed past Jean and hastily walked towards Charles' door, without time to consider niceties, he pushed opened to the door and allowed it to slam behind him.

As usual, Charles already knew of Logan's impeding rampage and calmly looked up at him with a comforting smile.  
"Charles…what?" snapped Logan, placing his hands on his hips.  
"I'll stop you now and tell you that this is about nothing of what is currently running through your head" Charles reassured, wheeling himself around his desk.  
Logan pushed the thought of Trask into the back of his mind and exhaled deeply, allowing himself to return back to normal.  
"Then what's Jean's reaction all about?" Logan asked, sitting down opposite Charles. "She didn't know whether it was serious or not…"  
"Fortunately, Jean doesn't know the entireties of it yet…" Charles began. "Hank and I wanted to wait until you knew first-"  
"Come on bub, come out with it" Logan grumbled, his patience still wearing thin.  
"When the timeline changed, a lot of things from the past would still be the same…but some things can also change or in your case…be brought to existence." Charles began, noticing Logan's face fall into a concerned glare once again. "Do you remember anyone that went by the name of Emma James?"  
Logan sat back in his chair, racing through his mind for any recollection, until he halted at a memory of a bar in Vancouver, about twenty years previous.  
"Um, yeah…she was some chick I met at a bar up in Canada, she got herself into some trouble…I helped her out and then I left" Logan recalled. "But that was over twenty years ago Charles, how is that important?"  
"What if you didn't leave?" Charles asked. "What if your timeline adapted itself so that you had stayed…?"  
Suddenly, Logan felt a tightening in his stomach and his heart sink, realising the possibilities that could have happened, the possibilities he had never had, and never wanted.  
"Charles…what happened?"

Without mentioning another word, Charles turned the television on to show him the same report that he had shown the others before. Logan sat in silence and placed his hand up to cup his jaw as he watched in astonishment. The woman he had known for only a few hours, dead…and a girl…'Howlett'…  
"No, Charles that can't be right, that isn't part of me. That's not my past, they are not my past" Logan declared, his voice getting louder as he jumped out of his chair in disbelief and forcefully ran his fingers through his hair.  
"Logan, there was always a possibility that-" Charles started, before he was interrupted by Logan pacing the floor, shaking his head.  
"Stop, no. Nothing like this. That's not me, whoever that…she is, she is not anything to do with me" he demanded, loudly.  
"I understand your frustration Logan, this came as a shock to us too. But the reason for this coming to our attention is greater…" Charles pleaded, maintaining his calming presence, which provoked Logan to reassess his behaviour.  
As Logan collapsed down on the arm of the chair, the door opened Hank entered.

"I'm presuming you know about all this too?" Logan snapped.  
"Yes I do Logan" he stated, walking in with his arms behind his back. "I'm assuming Charles told you why she's here?"  
Suddenly, Logan felt his tolerance peak and his chest explode with rage.  
"She's here?!" Logan's voice boomed. "She's not even supposed to be alive and you brought her here?!"  
"Logan please…" Charles started, but his voice was drowned by Logan's loud growls.  
"This can't happen, it didn't even happen to me, I didn't sleep with that woman and I sure as hell didn't have a fuckin' kid!" he bellowed.  
"SHE IS NOT HERE FOR YOU." Hank's voice overpowered Logan's entirely, which caused him to be reluctantly silenced. "We currently we have a twenty year old mutant woman who spent ten years locked up in Eden, her mother dead and the entire British Government out for her blood."

Logan slumped into the chair and placed his head into his hands, trying to collect his thoughts as he felt a sudden pang of guilt. He knew of the Eden Programme and their secret experiments on child mutants, especially as the idea was derived from Stryker himself. As he calmed, he lifted up his head and attempted to address the issue more logically.

"What happened to Emma?" Logan asked in a monotone voice, staring at the floor. "Did she commit suicide or…?"  
"Seeing as she was a mutant, we would automatically presume there was a chance of murder…but I'm guessing you're wondering if Mallory did it?" Hank asked, seeing Logan close his eyes in agreement. "We don't know, she's a level five mutant…most of those have certain powers that can be…unpredictable. But we're still yet to test her."

"…Logan, we brought her here so she can be safe. We feel that there is something else about this, about her that we aren't quite sure of, I feel this could be more that what is being let on to us." Charles exhaled. "We aren't asking you for anything, nothing at all. But we need you to be aware of the facts."  
"Facts?" Logan questioned. "How do you even…?"  
Hank took out the file that had been hidden inside his suit jacket and took out the piece of paper, proving what Logan was dreading. He read the statement over and over again in his head, his heart sinking.  
"What do I do?" Logan sighed.  
"It is entirely down to you. Whether you wish to progress with what you have been told is your decision, as she is not yet aware of you being here and we have not asked her about her family history. But we need you to be a part of our team to ensure that she is safe and that we find out exactly who she is and what is going on." Hank reasoned. "After all, you are part of the school and she is now one of our residents, she deserves some consistency after everything she's been through."

* * *

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	5. Research

Mallory exhaled deeply as she pulled her hooded jumper over her head, her stomach churning with anticipation as she prepared herself to venture out in to the mansion. She pulled a small photograph out of her back pocket and looked down at it with a bittersweet smile. She was standing on a wall with her arms around Emma's neck, smiling enthusiastically, as did Emma. She could remember the exact moment it was taken, a week before she was forced into Eden and separated from her mother completely. The moment everything in her life was destroyed.  
She shook the memories out of her head as she picked up a book from her bedside table. She opened it and placed her photograph inside the cover and closed it, brushing her hand over the book title.  
 **  
** **The Horsemen of the Apocalypse.**

As she opened her bedroom door, she instinctively looked around for any threats.  
 _'Nothing, just fuckin' kids'_ she complained to herself, as she locked the door, pulled over her hood and made her way through the main corridor, making sure her head was kept down to avoid any unnecessary eye contact or conversation.  
 **  
**She eventually found the library, after making a few long winded trips into dead ends, and her mouth fell open as she observed the entirety of it, books covering every wall to the ceilings and a spiral staircase in the middle that lead to another floor. As she made her way towards the stairs, still looking up at the ceiling, she felt a sudden barge into her shoulder, which made her stumble and her hood fall off. She spun around to notice a girl with vibrant purple hair and bright green eyes with faint purple marks across her forehead and eyes.  
"Sorry, I…er…" she began, as her eyebrows creased as she looked at Mallory up and down confused. "Sorry, aren't you the girl that just been transferred?"  
Reluctant to reply, Mallory lifted her hood back up and walked as fast as she could up the spiral staircase to avoid having to answer any questions.  
 _'Transferred?'_ she mumbled to herself. _'I shouldn't even be here…'  
_ As she searched through the rows of books, she finally found the books she needed. She grabbed a couple from the shelves and luckily enough, found an empty bay window ledge to sit against. She sat down, took out a cigarette and lit it before opening up the first book.

After a few hours of frantic scanning through half a dozen books and coming across nothing that she desperately needed, she lit up her last cigarette before opening up the final book when suddenly a sharp cough occurred behind her, causing her to jump and spin around.  
"Miss Howlett." Jean voiced, crossing her arms and glancing down at the cigarette.  
"Oh, sorry." Mallory mumbled, looking for somewhere to put it down.  
"No it's fine for now, just try and refrain from doing it in the library…some of these books are very old and prized possessions…although, I know someone who'd probably just do the same as you" Jean smiled, allowing a single laugh under her breath.  
"Sorry, what?" Mallory asked, confused about Jean's small reverie, before Jean realised and attempted to quickly change the story.  
"Nothing, what brings you to the library?" she asked, pulling up a chair, but making sure to keep her distance as she noticed Mallory become uneasy.  
"Reading?" Mallory answered, unsure of what the sudden presence was for.  
"Good" Jean smiled, tilting her head slightly as she read the title of the book.

 **Mutant Genetics within Ancient Egypt.  
**  
Jean frowned slightly, as well as noticing the titles of the numerous other books she had pulled out. Not wanting to interrogate Mallory straight away, she looked up and smiled comfortingly.  
"I'm sorry, I didn't say who I was…I'm Jean Grey, I work in the medical labs and research facility downstairs. I've been here since I was a child, so if you need anything, any directions or…someone to let off steam to, just let me know" she informed.  
"Thanks…" Mallory nodded, trying to force a smile.  
"How are you finding it here?" Jean asked. "Have you gone through all the tests?"  
"They want me to test my powers, show what I can do. Then the…Professor wants to try and do a telepathic thing to try and access whatever…they…did to me" Mallory stated, suddenly feeling vulnerable when mentioning the Asylum, her most hated emotion.  
"The Eden Programme?" Jean asked, knowing that she was possibly prying too far, when Mallory nodded in agreement, Jean felt almost empathetic, as she knew what it felt like to feel contained; although she had come to accept why it had to be. Suddenly, Jean felt the urge to ask the one question that was completely prohibited.  
"What happened to your family?" she asked, noticing Mallory exhale at the thought of having to reiterate her past to someone she felt unsure of. But as she felt reluctant to answer, she knew that at some point, the question would have to be asked.  
"I don't have any family, most of my mother's relatives died before I was born. So it's just me." Mallory answered, honestly.  
"And…what about your…father?" asked Jean carefully, watching Mallory's facial expressions intensely. "Did you know him?"  
Mallory's eyes faltered as the word was mentioned, feeling her chest tighten painfully and the reoccurring pang of hatred.  
"He left me when I was little." Mallory sighed, taking the final drag of her cigarette before putting it in the bin next to her.  
"He left?" Jean asked.  
"We lived in Vancouver, he walked out on me…us…" Mallory corrected herself as she refused to look at Jean in the eye. "We moved away, because I wasn't safe anymore, although…"  
"Although?" Jean pressed.  
Mallory began to put some of books she had found into a bag, and whilst rummaging, a picture fell out onto the floor beside Jean.  
"No matter where I am, I'm not safe. He left me there, knowing I would die. He left…me" Mallory growled, holding back the pain that resonated from deep down in her heart, those raw memories that had made their way from her subconscious into her mind. With that, she yanked up her hood and paced away, desperate to disappear as far away as she could, back to her room; four solid walls of silence.

Once Mallory had left, Jean lent down to pick up the picture and looked at it closely, before letting a deep, moan escape her lips as she felt her heart sink in sorrow.  
It was a tattered, but clearly treasured Polaroid picture of a slightly younger Logan, holding up a young child in his arms, and looking at her with complete admiration as the young Mallory smiled towards the camera.

* * *

So, Mallory is already aware of what she is, and Jean can't help but push for answers about Logan! This is the start of you becoming aware of the disassociation between Mallory and Logan, and her personal feelings towards it. She clearly remembers her father, but has no idea that she is the outcome of an alternate timeline, so has no idea that Logan had no idea who she is!

Please follow and review!


	6. Confrontation

April 9th

"I hope this is worth it" grumbled Peter as he shuffled into the sub-floor meeting room, his eyes aching each time he blinked. He stood behind Kitty as the other members of the group filed in and either sat down at the table or found a space around the edge.  
"Apologies for the early wake up call, but we appear to have some essential information that we have managed to extract from the Eden's system" Charles began, clocking Logan's entrance as he silently hid himself at the back.  
"It appears to be that our new arrival is more complicated that we first thought…" Hank stated, as he stood up from his seat. "Since 2010, Mallory has been the programme's constant control subject throughout their experiments. They've practically based their research on her powers and abilities, and their results are…astounding."  
"So why did they allow her to be discharged?" questioned Kitty curiously.  
"That's the issue, no one knows why…there's no discharge papers or request files. But all the staff that work there…have no memory of her existence…" Charles answered.  
"Then how did you find the information?" asked Scott, when he heard a sharp cough behind him. He turned around and noticed Peter smile and lift up his hand in the air.  
"Turns out Master Maximoff is quite the tech wit" Hank acknowledged. "There were thousands of files recovered on her. Going into extreme detail about her powers and her capabilities."  
"Although, we've yet to discover what she has been limited to…" sighed Charles. "Unfortunately, this is how they created the drug Xylex…to cause her to limit her abilities."  
"Xylex?" asked Rogue, looking towards Jean.  
"It creates blocks in your mind, literally forcing your powers into a subconscious state…in the hopes of possibly eradicating it completely." Jean exhaled sadly, looking down at the floor.  
"Has it eradicated it?" questioned Bobby.  
"No it hasn't" Storm answered, standing up from her chair. She looked down at the interactive table in front of her, placed her finger down on it and swiped up. A CCTV video began running of the Training Room, showing Mallory flying and fighting in the simulations provided. As well as using what looked like electricity through her arms, lighting up her flight path as she flew around.

"She went through every level of the simulations without a scratch. As you can see, she has electrical manipulation stronger than I've ever seen. She's also showing signs of Telekinesis, as well as flawless hand to hand combat skills."  
"I'd hate to see what she's being blocked from" huffed Peter.  
"I don't know if this is relative Professor, but I saw her in the Library last week…she's reading up on a particular subject that I think is very unusual." Jean started, remembering her altercation previously.  
Charles turned to stare at Jean for a moment, and she knew that he was able to see through her exactly what Mallory had read. He then sighed and nodded to Jean in thanks, before biting the inside of his lip.  
"Can we address the massive elephant in the room now?" asked Scott, turning to face Logan who glared back at him.  
"Scott don't…" started Jean, but Scott stood up and ignored her as the rest of the room fell silent.  
"You've been back almost a month and you've not said a single word to her…we've all seen you turn on your heels and run away every time you see her. Does any of what we've said not kill you inside?!" Scott snapped. "You're most things Logan, but I never had you for a coward…"  
"Shut your damn mouth, Scott. You have no idea what I'm dealing with through all this...this is none of your business" Logan snarled back, taking a step forward in retaliation.

"What you're dealing with?" laughed Scott, clenching his jaw in anger. "She was tormented, abused as a child and her mother died and all you can think of is yourself. Well she told Jean what you did…that you just left her-"  
Scott pulled out the photograph that Jean had found and threw it down on the table so everyone, including Logan could see.  
"All this is happening to her, and all she can think about is why her father left…" Scott sighed, before storming out of the room.  
Next to leave was Rogue, as seeing the picture reignited her irritancy towards the situation, and Bobby followed close behind along with Kitty and Peter.  
One by one, the rest of the team left in silence – until only Logan and Charles remained.  
"…I left?" Logan asked quietly, looking up to Charles guiltily. Hearing those words from Scott caused Logan's heart to sink, as he knew what it was like to lose his family so young.  
"Apparently so…" sighed Charles. "Not long after this picture was taken…"  
Logan stepped forward to look at the photograph, and felt a lump form in his throat. He had never known himself to look that happy, and seeing the little girl smiling pulled at his chest in guilt once again.  
"But that's not me, I can't just enter her life after she has all these memories of me that I don't have. I don't want to force some relationship that I don't feel." Logan uttered, feeling a war begin in his mind as he struggled to look away from the image.  
"We have an option…if that were ever to change…" Charles began, as Logan's forehead creased with confusion.  
"Logan, I'm going to be performing Mnemokinesis on Mallory within the next few weeks as I need to discover what Eden have suppressed, which will also enable me to enter her memories and extract them…or…I could perform it also on you…"  
"What do you mean, plant those memories in my head because that's not the same Charles, it's not me…" Logan began, as Charles shook his head.  
"No, I am able to provide your mind with the ability to re-live your new timeline. Placing yourself in the shell of who you were. But there is a possibility that you may lose all of your memories from this timeline." Charles stated, as he saw Logan place his head into his hands.  
"I can't…do that" Logan sighed, aware of everything he would lose, his entire history, his life and who he was.  
"I completely understand…but unfortunately I also agree partly with Scott. She needs to meet you, even if it provides some form of closure, it may help her move on – if you're not ready to accept it. This is no fault of hers…she deserves to know what happened to you." Charles reasoned, before leaving the room.

After a few minutes alone, Logan picked up the picture and exhaled deeply as he hated to admit that Charles was right.


	7. Class

As Mallory reached the classroom door, she breathed a sigh of relief as she noticed that she was first in. She took a chair at the back and took out her laptop, making sure her eyes remained on the black screen as she opened it up whilst the sound of footsteps began to echo throughout the room. As the laptop screen turned on, she felt someone brush against her as they sat as in the chair next to her.

"…Hi again-"  
Mallory's eyes flicked up to notice the familiar purple haired girl from a few weeks ago, smiling expectantly at her as she waited for a response.  
"…You barged into me in the Library remember? Anyway, I'm Blink"  
"Blink…" Mallory repeated, raising her eyebrows as she attempted to hide her amusement. A facial expression that Blink recognised instantly from Logan.  
 _'How interesting'_ Blink thought, before placing her bag down beside her. "What brings you to Physics?"

Initially, Mallory shrugged in response, as she felt that her honest answer of being desperate to learn was damaging to her purposeful reputation. "Xavier's placed me in a few…thought it would be of some help"  
"Awesome, well Physics is his usual class…although he has pulled out of this one" Blink replied, as Storm breezed in with a warming smile. "Listen, I'm sorry about being so blunt the other day about you being new, word travels fast around the classrooms here…especially with the younger ones."  
As Blink subtly nodded towards someone, Mallory followed the line of sight and noticed a group of males and a girl with slicked back black hair and a black mark across one eye, all turning round to look at Mallory and glaring at her.  
"Afternoon class, welcome back and I hope you had a good break…I know it's going to be difficult to get back into the run of things but I've been told by the Professor that you're all his top students-" Storm began, stopping her sentence as a pair of boys cheered on her compliment.

Eventually they were set to work and Mallory completed it in silence, enjoying having the opportunity to occupy her mind with something entirely new. She could hear Storm and some students in the class talking, but she tuned it out as she continued, until she felt Blink nudge her in her side. Mallory spun her head angrily towards her when she noticed that the class was staring at her.

"See Miss, told you she'd have no idea" laughed the girl in the group she was aware of beforehand.  
"Callisto, stop." Storm snapped, before looking to Mallory and smiling reassuringly. "Mallory, what are Quantum Dots?"  
Mallory began to frown as she knew she had no idea what the answer was, she looked down at all the notes she had written in the hope of something jumping out, but nothing. "Come on, didn't you learn anything in the crazy asylum?" laughed the male sat next to Callisto, as the group sniggered once again.  
Mallory gritted her teeth and clenched her fists against the table in anger.  
"Don't listen to them, they're complete assholes" mumbled Blink, seeing how Mallory was reacting.  
"John!" shouted Storm.

In the corner of her eye, Mallory noticed a small box pop up on her laptop screen that read: "Quantum Dots: Artificial systems where all the electrons are confined into three special directions."  
Before she was able to begin questioning the source of the help, she repeated it out loud the class, before glaring at Callisto, her chest burning with hatred. Mallory knew that if she were anywhere else, she would be able to destroy her in an instant, but the unfamiliar confinements she was suddenly within, caused Mallory to feel helpless. "Correct, well done Mallory…perfect answer" grinned Storm, relieved that Mallory had gotten it right, although by the sly grin on Peter's face who was sitting in the other corner of the room – she realised that she had gotten some help.  
"Alright Miss calm down" sneered John.  
"Yeah no need to tiptoe around the psycho…" laughed another male.  
That one comment caused something to snap inside Mallory's mind as she grabbed the table she was sitting at and pushed it sideways across the room and attempted to go for them, but she felt a sudden blast of wind rush past her and instantly Peter had placed an arm across her, holding her back. Along with Blink who had placed a hand on her shoulder, she could feel how strong they were and felt shocked that people had actually come to her aid.  
"What the fuck is your problem?!" snarled Mallory.  
"We're all over the news right now because you're here, we're not safe anymore because of your little killing episode" growled Callisto.  
"I didn't ask to come here, I don't have to deal with your shit!" Mallory snapped back.  
"We were safe before you…and now the school's little team are protecting you because your daddy helps run the place!" shouted John.

Suddenly, Mallory felt the anger dissipate into confusion, halting the struggle against Peter and Blink.  
"My what?" Mallory asked, her voice quietening.  
"Uh oh, spoiler alert!" another student called out in the silence.

A rush of emotions began to run through her mind, everything about her past that she was so able to force back into her subconscious was slowly bleeding their way back in. She felt her mouth go dry and her stomach tense up in pain from the knotted feeling she had, as she looked at the two people who stood beside as they looked to each other in shock. Mallory then looked up to Storm in a last ditched hope that she could at least say something, but Storm closed her eyes and exhaled guiltily.

"He's here?" Mallory croaked, still watching Storm as she could feel herself mentally pleading for her to say that it was a joke, but instead Storm looked up at her with her mouth open, struggling in her own mind of whether to admit it or not.  
"Mallory-" Storm began, but Mallory had seen enough. She snatched her bag off the floor and ran as fast as she could to Charles' office. Her heart hammering against her aching chest and her stomach twisted up in knots as her mind was echoing with all the emotions she had hidden for so long. She was furious that she had been so close to him for all this time, and that he possibly knew that she was also there, but she was also terrified of who he now was, and his reaction to her.

Before she realised it, she was outside Charles' office, and as she reached towards the handle – the door flew open.

He stared back at her in shock.

He looked the same as the day he left.

"You..."

* * *

 _In this chapter, I wanted to address how Mallory would face against other mutants of her age and how different she was compared to them because of her upbringing. Mallory has shown a secret desire to better herself, but clearly she has other smaller issues on her hands when she realises that most of the students disagree with her right to be a part of the school._  
 _Through that, she discovers that Logan is within the confines of the School, and the man she only remembers in her dreams has finally become her reality._

 _Please rate and review my work, it all helps me!_

 _MH x_


	8. UPDATE AN

Hi guys!

Apologies for the delay in updating this story, working 14 days shifts and planning a wedding is extremely hard work!

I've completely finished writing this story on my laptop and will be regularly updating the chapters on here whilst writing the skeleton for the 2nd part.

Please review, I love hearing your guys thoughts, especially with the new Logan film coming out.

I'll say now that my character Mallory has **no relevance** or relation to X23.


	9. Aftermath

"So, what happened?" Storm asked softly, as she sat down on one of the classroom tables next to Logan.

Once Mallory had left her lecture, she had no option but to dismiss early, and almost instantly afterwards she was greeted by Charles and Logan looking exasperated. Peter and Blink re-entered soon after, looking partially guilty for their involvement in the situation.  
"Nothing…" Logan eventually answered. "I opened the door and she just stood there, with this…look. Then she just walked away"

Her facial expression when she saw him resonated in his mind, where for a split second she looked overwhelmed with happiness, but then it immediately fell into a look of…heartbreak and betrayal. It caused his stomach to knot in a sense of regret which in his mind aggravated him, as he knew that he was not the father she had, it wasn't him.

"How did she find out?" asked Charles, already knowing the answer of course, but turned to Peter and Blink for their version.  
"It was Callisto's group" Peter mumbled, scratching his fingers through his silver hair.  
"They were trying to rile her, get her to react to something…they called her a psycho, accused her of killing her mother and she snapped-" Blink explained. "But as soon as they mentioned Logan, she bolted."  
"They said that whilst she's here, none of us are safe. They think that we're in danger either by her or because of her" Storm continued.  
Charles opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again in silence, rethinking what he was going to say, he did not want to lie to them, even he did not know what she was completely capable of.  
"Charles?" Storm asked, noticing his double take. "What is it?"  
"Nothing, we just need to make sure that any information on her is kept silent from now on. Mallory's only just beginning to venture out, she needs to feel that this is a safe place. Not a place to be attacked" he answered, attempting to divert the conversation to something else.  
"So…what do we do now?" asked Peter, crossing his arms. "She knows about Logan…"  
Charles looked to Logan who was looking down at the floor, his hands clasped together in a fist. He did not need to read Logan's mind to see that it was racing with thoughts.  
"We do nothing-" Charles answered for him. "She's a grown woman, let her come to terms with it. For now she needs support, someone to befriend…someone to trust"  
He turned to Peter and Blink, who exhaled nervously and nodded in agreement. They knew it was going to be harder than just a quick conversation.

As Logan walked out of the classroom and began to make his way down the empty hallway, he heard Charles call his name sternly from behind him. He reluctantly stopped and turned to face him, clenching his jaw together as he knew what Charles was about to say, and at the point, Logan did not need a lecture.  
"Why didn't you tell them?" Charles asked calmly.  
"Tell them what?-" he replied, rolling his eyes and glaring at him angrily.  
"-You can't pretend that you didn't have a flash of your alternate past Logan, this is hugely significant to what I could give you." Charles maintained, aware that there was a sense of pleading in his voice.  
"I can't Charles" Logan protested. "I've had too much happen in my life that made me who I am now…I can't lose that over-"  
"Don't you think everyone here would have said the same if they had a choice Logan, they all had history, pain, strengths, loves…but their second chance has provided the world with a new hope." Charles' interrupted as he raised his voice.  
"They're not me, I'm not prepared to throw away the person I am now-" Logan attempted to reason, feeling his blood begin to boil as Charles continuously attempted to interrupt him.  
" **I'M NOT TURNING MYSELF INTO THE MAN THAT TURNED HIS BACK ON HER!** " Logan roared.  
Charles quietened instantly and exhaled sadly as he was unable to answer, and with that, Logan stormed off down the hallway.

He ended up out the back of the mansion, he continued through the gardens until he halted at the eroded stone wall that enclosed the entire grounds. He placed his hands on the wall and attempted to calm his heart rate down as he could feel it pumping through his chest. He had finally admitted what had been chipping away in his mind. Everyone had regained a sense of belonging and a story to be proud of in their new timeline, but whilst Logan retained his, he was happy living in the belief that he would still be the same. But he wasn't, he had become a coward, someone capable of leaving his daughter behind and running away from his problems.  
He turned around and leaned against the wall as he allowed himself to replay the flashback he had gotten when he saw Mallory. He was carrying a large hold-all over his shoulder whilst walking down an unlit driveway, all he could hear was a child hysterically crying and repetitively screaming ' _daddy_.' He turned around to see a small girl, no older than four standing at the doorway in a long nightdress that was clearly too big for her as it draped down at her feet. Tears staining her cheeks and her heartbroken face, and he just continued to walk away. That was the same facial expression Mallory used when she saw him in the doorway, causing him to have that memory and now made him feel this overwhelming sense of failure and regret. He rubbed his face violently with his hands, and as he looked back up at the mansion, he noticed a figure on the roof, sitting with their legs over the edge and he hated himself for knowing instantly who it was.

* * *

Apologies for this being a shorter chapter, but the next one is a lot longer and we will also be reintroduced to an old character!

I loved writing this little one as I wanted to delve into Logan's true emotions a tad, as he's keeping these barriers to the others characters, but deep down  
he feels guilty for everything that happened although they were completely out of his hands. It's also the beginning of him beginning to be brought around to the idea of having someone like him.

Please R and R!

MH x


	10. An Old Friend

As Jean was clearing up her desk after teaching her lecture, she could sense Storm walking up to the room. She opened the door for her as Storm arrived and gestured her inside with a smile.  
"Hey Storm, thought it was your day off?" she asked, continuing packing her box up with books.  
"It is, hence why I'm here, for you" Storm answered, her voice ringing with excitement. "Someone's arrived that would like to say hi to you"

Jean scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion, but also reciprocated Storm's grin as she willingly followed behind her outside the door and through the hallway.  
Once they arrived in the main entrance, she could not hold back the grin that ached her face as she saw a small blue figure standing with Hank and Scott, a long pointed tail edging out from underneath their long black leather coat.

"Kurt?" Jean exclaimed, as she paced upto him and wrapped her arms around him joyfully.  
"Miss Jean, hello again" Kurt chuckled, his thick German accent echoing against the walls.  
"How have you been? It's been years since we heard from you!"  
"I've been travelling across South America, Asia, Europe…" Kurt answered, looking up at her through his thick black eyelashes.  
"That sounds incredible!" she grinned. "What brings you back to little New York?"  
"It turns out, that Mr Wagner here knows Miss Howlett!" Hank answered for him, placing his hand on Kurt's shoulder comfortingly.  
"I heard that she had been taken out of the country, I wanted to make sure she was safe and happy. It drew me here, to you all" he smiled.  
"She's been here for a couple o'months now" Scott confirmed.  
"How long have you known Mallory?" questioned Storm.  
"About five years, I was teleporting across England, when suddenly I must have diverted and I ended up in her cell at the Asylum" Kurt answered, his face falling into a sorrowful frown. "Her powers won't allow her to teleport with me, so I kept visiting her…she was my friend"  
Jean formed her lips into a partial smile as she thought of Mallory being locked up away in a dark cell, waiting every second for a glimmer of hope in the form of Kurt.  
"That's really sweet of you to help her like that…" she gestured.  
"No you're wrong, she helped me-" he interrupted. "But then they just let her leave, and even when she tried to escape her mother…there was nobody there to help her, and when I arrived it was too late."  
"Wait, what?" snapped Hank. "Escape her mother?"  
"Hang on, we should probably take this somewhere more private..." Scott remarked, noticing the frequency of students beginning to heighten.

Within moments, they were in the staffroom alongside Charles and the rest of the group, huddled around eagerly awaiting the new information that had been brought to light.  
"I'm sorry to have to bombard you with questions like this Kurt, but we are trying to find out as much information as we can to find out how to keep Mallory safe." Charles explained comfortingly, as Kurt stood with his back to the window, feeling overwhelmed by the amount of eyes on him.  
"You mentioned escaping her mother?" wondered Jean, sitting closest to him.  
"It wasn't her mother…she looked like her, but it wasn't her on the inside. She was, a demon. She was able to take away Mallory's powers and cause her…so much pain…" Kurt explained, his face scrunching up as he relayed the memories in his mind. "I could hear her, screaming out in my mind…when I found her, it was too late…I think…Mallory killed that demon"  
The room fell silent as they all exchanged shocked looks at each other. Charles closed his eyes slowly as he felt his heart become heavy.

Suddenly, there was a heavy knock on the door which caused everyone to jump up. The door opened and Logan walked in, his eyes widening when he noticed a full house.  
"Was I not invited to the party?" he mumbled sarcastically as he looked up and noticed Kurt standing towards the end of the room.  
"Hey buddy how are ya?" Logan asked, his voice lightening – when Kurt looked up at him with a furious snarl.  
"Um, I'm guessing he knows the situation?" Logan asked, turning to look at Hank and Charles.  
"Kurt knows Mallory, Logan" Scott snapped, crossing his arms in judgement. "He knew her whilst she was in the Asylum"  
Logan inhaled at the word 'Asylum', and nodded quietly. Unable to say anything else about his personal situation with Mallory, he looked up at Kurt's face and muttered 'thanks' under his breath.  
"I came here for a reason, I would like to go and see her now?" Kurt asked, looking towards Charles.  
Charles nodded with a smile and allowed him to teleport away.  
"What do we do now?" asked Bobby. "What did he mean by Emma being a demon?"  
"Woah, what did I miss?" questioned Logan, confused, a little taken aback by his quick response.  
"Oh, now you're interested in what happens to her?" snapped Scott.  
"Shut up bub, you have no idea on this" Logan growled.  
"Scott please…" Jean pleaded to Scott quietly, placing her hand on his arm which calmed him instantly.  
"I think it's becoming evident that Miss Howlett killed Emma James" exhaled Hank.  
"I think it's time…" snapped Charles, turning his chair and wheeling out towards the door. "Logan, with me please"

Kurt reappeared in one of the many corridors of the mansion, confused he spun around on the spot, staring at everyone that walked past in the hope of catching her, when suddenly he turned his head and zoned in on a figure exiting a room, wearing black ripped jeans, a denim jacket with an inner jacket that had a hood which was pulled up over their head. As they locked the door and turned to face him, Kurt saw the familiar thick brown hair which cascaded down their front and the illuminating blue eyes which stared wide eyed directly into his soul.  
"Kurt?" her voiced echoed, high pitched and in complete disbelief as a crease formed in her eyebrows. He did his signature shy smile at her as she ran upto him and threw her arms around him. She held him as hard as she could, terrified that he would just dissipate in to the air. She finally felt her equilibrium partially settle as she had a single sense of normality again. She buried her face into his shoulder as she allowed a smile to embrace her for the first time in what felt like years.  
"I told you I'd find you" he said softly.

As they continued to hold each other in a tight hug, Logan was able to see them from the end of the corridor. Although he was able to feel warmth in seeing Mallory with a smile on her face, he struggled to try and rid himself of the burning sensation in his chest through jealousy and angst. As though he should have been the one to see her smile again.  
 _'Not some chump that just magically appeared in her cell.'_  
The thought shocked him, as he felt guilty for his feelings towards the situation.  
 _'Fuckin' hell man, what the hell is happenin' to me?!'_

* * *

 _I added this chapter in as I wanted Mallory to have another link to the X Men, as well as explaining what happened to Emma properly. The group now know that although it was a clone, Mallory was capable of killing another person. Logan also begins to see her genuinely happy with someone else, whilst his presence caused her heart to break in betrayal - and he reluctantly gets jealous, which adds to his flurry of emotions._

 _Please review!_

 _MH x_


	11. Magneto

_Underground Facility, Alcatraz Island._

In the darkness of a large circular room, a single spotlight shone on a large table that was strewn with documents; papers; photographs; tablets with videos playing on repeat. A tall figure was cowering over it, his eyes frantically searching through everything, desperate for something new to jump out at him.

"Erik…?" a woman's voice echoed against the metal walls behind him, he refused to look up in retaliation instead lifting up his hand, beckoning her towards the table.  
"I've spent years infiltrating everything from Charles and that damn school of his" Erik exhaled angrily, lifting up his hand to his lips and holding them. "He's been flying completely under the radar, but I knew he wouldn't be able to help himself once this story got public"  
"That British girl?" she questioned, looking down at the evidence in front of her. She noticed Polaroid photographs of Mallory unaware of the camera; the Eden files; and videos of Mallory talking to Kurt in the grounds of the X Mansion.  
"He brought her there and allowed her to just socialise and merge herself into that community – his disbelief and naivety is sickening." Erik snapped bitterly. "It took me months to discover what she really is Mystique, and it's staring him right in the face"  
"You said, 'what she is'" Mystique asked, picking up a photograph of Mallory's full body X-Ray.  
"There's legends, books, scriptures that preach about a second coming of an entity that established the mutant race several millennia before our time." Erik stated. "He caused the most catastrophic of wars, legend says that he caused movements throughout galaxies…"  
"Are you saying that she's part of this 'second coming'?" Mystique sneered, a sly smile on her face and her eyebrows raised in disbelief. "She couldn't escape the Asylum, who we conned so easily into letting her go; she didn't even notice that one of our clones was impersonating her mother – she was being beaten for weeks before she actually killed it…hell, she's so doped up on pills that we don't even know if her powers are even there anymore…"

Erik looked up at Mystique, his blood boiling at her questioning his judgements and being completely unaware of the importance of the situation, but he knew that he could never truly be mad at her…she was too important to him. He bit his tongue and allowed her to continue her rant.

"If this 'entity' needed to use someone for this return…I doubt he would waste it on such a disappointment."  
"That's because she has not yet developed her powers suitable for his return…it's hereditary, and her mother only just died. She needs time…but I'm not prepared to let it get that far." Erik exhaled, gritting his teeth as he picked up her admission file – signed by Charles and Hank. "Charles may think that he can protect her in his little sanctuary, but he's dealing with something more powerful than all of us. If he's too weak to do what is necessary, then I will do it myself-"

He threw the file back down at the table, turned on his heel and walked hastily to the door, when he heard a snap remark from Mystique behind him.

"This has nothing to do with us Erik" she sighed, feeling slightly defensive of Charles. "If Charles screws this up, then he can deal with it himself"  
Erik halted, and stormed back towards her, clenching his fists in anger.  
"I have not spent twenty years building this empire for it to collapse under his idiocy. I agreed to keep my distance and maintain a treaty with him and his stupid school…but this nulls everything. I am more powerful now than I have ever been, and if I can destroy her, I will." He snarled into her face, spit hitting her in hatred.

"You're forgetting one thing in this _amazing_ masterplan of yours Erik" she snapped back, picking up Mallory's paternity file. "She's got family, she's Logan's daughter…whether you think she's capable or not – he saved all of us, we owe him that"  
"I OWE HIM NOTHING." Erik growled at the top of his lungs, the words bouncing off the walls. "You might think that your life is better off in this new timeline, but mine got destroyed. I had to endure them butcher my daughter, my wife – I held them as they died in my arms Raven, and Logan has a daughter, alive…he gets the chance that were stolen from me. I was powerful. I had a legacy. Instead I'm here, stuck underground and powerless. He does not get the right to have a better life!"

"This is about more than what she is isn't it?" Mystique questioned sadly, seeing his pain etched across his face. He glared back at her as he recalled the moment the arrow hit his child and wife, the way they fell to the floor. The pain and rage that seared through his veins.  
"…At least talk to Charles first?" Mystique asked quietly, exhaling deeply as she understood Erik's reason behind his anger.


	12. A Decision

The sound of the roaring fire crackled through the silence, as Charles made his way into the main lounge. He saw Mallory sit on the floor in front of the fire, leaning against one of the couches. She was staring mindlessly at the flames, unaware of his arrival.  
For as long as she could remember, she had always chosen to sit on the floor – it allowed her to feel calmer, more grounded, and safe. She noticed a flicker in her peripherals and she looked up slowly, usually she would jump up at any change in her surroundings; but her body and mind were exhausted. She noticed Charles looking down at her with a pitiful facial expression, she knew exactly what he was going to say, and she decided not to fight it any longer…she was ready to provide Charles with all the information he needed.

"I assume you know why I'm here Mallory?" he asked quietly, already knowing the answer. She nodded silently at him and turned back to look at the fire.  
"I need to have your consent for this procedure, it is incredibly invasive and you may begin to recall memories that you have managed to push back into your subconscious, which could possibly trigger emotions that you have difficulty coping with…" he started.  
"You think I'll go on some hunting spree through your school…" she sneered quietly, not looking away from the fire. "I don't have to read minds to see what you all think since Kurt told you what happened. I've handled worse than a few bad memories."  
"I understand perfectly why you did what you did Mallory…" Charles explained, moving slightly closer to her empathetically. "But I need to extract exactly what happened ready for when that accusation arises…I promised you that whilst you're here, you would be protected. The truth will do that-"

"-You said that you would be able to erase what Eden did to my powers…" she interrupted, before exhaling nervously and pulling her legs up to her chest.  
"…What…what if my abilities are closed off to me for a reason? I can't remember even being taken there when I was eleven, I don't remember why I was taken away or what I did"  
"You don't remember, or you don't want to?" Charles questioned, clasping his hands together and pushing himself forward in his chair.  
"That's just it…I don't know." She sighed, feeling a dull ache in her chest as she felt her self loathing churn in her stomach.  
"I also don't need to read minds to know that yours is full of more than just this procedure…" Charles explained, seeing her eyes falter and her face turn from defensive glare into a sorrowful frown. She looked up at him through her dark eyelashes and bit the inside of her cheek.

"He…didn't even react." Mallory muttered despairingly. "He looked straight through me, as if…he didn't even know me"  
"…and how does that make you feel?"  
"I don't know, I spent so long expecting him to somehow magically rescue me from Eden…but he never came, so I forced myself to forget him and it worked…I turned the disappointment into hatred for him. I never thought that the first place I'd be taken to would be…his home." Mallory mumbled, recalling the pain she felt through all the years of loneliness.  
"I will be extracting your years at Eden to analyse, erasing the blocks they placed, extracting the moment your mother died…I can't erase any memories…but I can extract them?" Charles asked, noticing that the idea that came to Mallory was the same one he was thinking of. She looked back up at him with her brow furrowed in confusion.  
"I don't know…" Mallory questioned herself. "I don't think he wants any part of this."  
Charles sighed, understanding her self doubt and nervousness. But he also knew what was going through Logan's mind, his worry of becoming a failed father. Charles desperately wanted to get to the bottom of why Logan left, to provide him with some reasoning for his actions.  
"It's entirely up to you…but at some point, you and Logan need to have a conversation if you are to move forward…"  
Mallory nodded reluctantly, as she once again recalled the pain she felt when he looked down at her as if he had no idea who she was.


	13. Unlocked

"Logan…I didn't think I'd find you here" Jean mentioned, walking into the small side that overlooked the Med Lab through a one way mirror. He turned away from the mirror to glance at her with his arms crossed and Jean initially noticed that he looked concerned until she spoke, then instinctively coughed and changed his stance.  
"I…um, yeah…Charles thought that this would be important for me…" he hesitated, only partially lying.

When Charles explained what had been agreed with Mallory, and that it could have a severe effect on her, something inside Logan pushed him to want to ensure her safety. He had been through Charles' procedures before and he knew first hand how intense they could be. He felt his heart race when he saw Charles put Mallory under a temporary sleep, feeling himself tense up when he thought of her not being able to wake up.  
"You're worried?" Jean asked, unable to stop herself from reading his racing mind. He spun his head towards her with an irritated glare, but was unable to keep up his façade, at least he knew with Jean – his secret was safe since Charles explained to her about the alternate timelines.  
"I don't know why I am…she isn't mine" he sighed. "But since that flash I had…somethin's changed"  
"Of course it's changed Logan, whether you like it or not – you have another timeline now, where you had her. Although you're not living that life; it's pressed into your mind somehow, and seeing her has triggered it to start bleeding through…" she clarified, trying to make it as simple as possible for him.

She walked up to a table top behind them which was being used as a large screen, she pressed a few buttons and an image loaded up of what looked like white noise.  
"What's that for?" Logan asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.  
"It's those wires that are on her temples" Jean started, pointing to thin white cables that were stuck onto each side of Mallory's temple, going down into the floor. "That's what Charles will be using to transfer her memories, they'll go into the system to be viewed here."  
Logan nodded in understanding and turned back to look at Mallory's lifeless body, and Charles placing on a helmet that looked similar to the one he wore in Cerebro.  
"I can't be her father, like this…not how I am now. I don't know her…or what's she been through-" he started, feeling a lump in his throat as he felt anxious opening himself up to Jean. "-But I'm not going to risk losing everything I've fought for in this life, everything I've been through…for a man who couldn't protect her. Even if I did change, who's to say I would stay here?…all this would end up being for nothing if I just left."  
"-And who's to say that you wouldn't forget?" Jean snapped, irritated at his stubbornness and selfishness. "-There is an extremely slim chance that you would forget who you are now, your mind is stronger than all of ours combined. You're also lingering on a past you know nothing about, you may have left her sixteen years ago but she's here now and she needs her father back, and that is your chance to have what you never did…family."

He was unable to conjure up an answer to her remark because he knew that she was right. He closed his eyes and exhaled dejectedly as the constant dull ache in his chest echoed through his body.  
"The feelings you have now are a resonation of that past, they're strong enough to provide you with these thoughts now…if you were such a bad father and left of your own accord, would you really be feeling like this now?" she questioned, placing her hand softly on his forearm, as she noticed his face fall as the question rattled through his mind.

 _"Jean, are you ready?"_

Charles' voice echoed through the speaker in the side room. Jean turned back to the table top and held down a button as Logan looked back through the mirror.  
"-Yes Charles, on your count." Jean replied.  
As Charles placed his hands down next to Mallory's head, the flickering image on the table top turned into a dark swirling colour.  
"He's in…" Jean sighed nervously.

Over a ten minute window, different images flickered up which included a constant dark room which had a clinical bed and a small window which never opened. Logan concluded to himself that it was her room in the Asylum, something that caused his blood to heat with rage.  
Suddenly, a solid moving image became more opaque causing Jean to gasp, standing closer to it with a pen and pad of paper.  
"-He's found something…" she stammered.  
Logan walked closer to it, anxious of what he was going to see.  
Immediately it was clear that they were seeing a memory through Mallory's eyes. She was hiding in a room, looking through a crack in the door at Emma and a tall man in a sharp, dark suit.

 _"You know that once she's signed over to us, you will lose all rights to her. You will no longer have any connections to her and she will be declared property by the Project?"_ The male asked, his deep voice echoing into the room that Mallory was hiding in.  
 _"Yes, yes fine. Just make sure that you can try and eradicate her powers…she may not be dangerous now, but she will…soon."_ Emma asked, picking up a glass of whiskey off the table and drinking a large amount of it.  
 _"We shall try, but one last question…why are you allowing us to do this, she is only eleven?"_  
 _"Because I can't protect her anymore…"_ Emma sighed, downing the rest of her glass.  
 _"Very well, I'll bring my team in momentarily to take her away. Please say your goodbyes."_

With that, the man stood up and walked out of the room, Emma jumped up and ran into the room Mallory was in. Her muffled cries echoed through Logan's chest as he struggled to watch.

 _"I'm sorry Mallie, we aren't safe together…and once I go, you won't be safe. I need you with them, so they can try and kill the demon inside you, inside us…I'm sorry."_  
 _"But mum…"_ Mallory sobs, her head shaking.  
Emma placed her hands up to Mallory's head and looked deeply in to her eyes.  
 _"Don't worry, you'll forget this moment. I'll make sure you don't remember them taking you. I'm sorry"_

Suddenly the vision turned back to black.

"…Emma erased Mallory's memory of that day-" Jean whispered, feeling her heart sink.  
"She let them take her..." Logan growled, feeling the warmth of tears threaten behind his eyes, he sank down into a chair and cupped his face with his hands. "-Killing the demon?"  
Jean mouthed _'I don't know'_ to him whilst she scribbled that quote down with three question marks.  
"-I need a minute…" Logan sighed, struggling to hold his emotions in. He stormed out into the corridor and placed his hands on his thighs as he tried to slow his breathing down in an attempt to compose himself. He paced around outside for what only felt like a few moments, before he heard Jean shout his name and come rushing out.

"Logan!" she cried. "-It wasn't Emma…when Mallory was released, it wasn't her. It was one of Erik's clones…"  
"What?" Logan snapped, storming back inside with her.  
"She had the mark on her hand when Mallory killed her" Jean explained, reloading an image of Emma's hand, showing two scarred lines.  
Logan knew that Erik had been designing clones based on Trask's early sentinels, but was shocked to see them being used so carelessly. He gritted his teeth and an angry growl escaped from inside his chest.  
"-They suffocated her powers so she was defenceless…it was killing her, she had to do something…" Jean mumbled, feeling guilty for previously judging Mallory on speculation.  
"So Erik's involved in this now?" Logan snarled. "-How does he know anything about this?"  
"He must've known before we did, I bet he was the one who allowed her to get released from Eden…"  
"But, why…what the hell does he know that we don't?" he growled, pacing the room once again. "-and why the hell is trying to kill her?!"  
"I don't-" Jean attempted to reply, but Logan was too furious to allow an answer.  
"There was a deal, he said he wouldn't get involved in anything high profile...I bet that fucker knew that she was _**mine**_!" he shouted, when he suddenly realised what he had said.  
He stumbled and collapsed back into the chair, his face glazed over in realisation. He finally allowed the tears to fall down his cheeks as he stared silently at the flickering black image.

"Logan…I" Jean stuttered as she struggled to find the words to say. He silently stood up and slowly made his way to the door.  
"I…can't…I-" he mumbled, when behind him a laugh echoed that he remembered so vividly. He spun around and saw a memory playing that struck him to his core.

He saw himself through Mallory's eyes, grinning wickedly as she giggled hysterically, her small voice causing Jean to instinctively smile. In the background he could see that it must have been Christmas, as the fairy lights flickered and Mallory's tiny hands clambered onto Logan as she tried to force him to wear a party hat. He faked a fight but allowed her to place it on his head.  
 _"You're a princess Daddy…"_ she giggled, as Logan picked her up and spun her around.  
 _"Is that right?...Em, did you hear that – I've been exposed"_ his voice called out as Logan's head turned to somewhere else, but Mallory's focus remained entirely on him – something that Jean noticed immediately and scribbled down. A female voice mumbled in the background, but clearly Mallory was not interested in the reply. Logan placed the party hat on Mallory's head and then picked her up and sat her on his shoulders.  
Mallory's sight then wobbled as Logan's walked her up to a floor length mirror and smiled. She could see herself and giggled happily.  
 _"Hey Daddy look, I'm a princess now!"_ She squealed, as she lifted up her arms in the air.

As the vision of Logan began to reply, the real Logan felt a burning urge to answer her and uttered the exact same words as his vision.

"You'll always be my princess."

Jean spun her head towards him in shock and jumped up, unable to believe what she had just heard.  
"Did you just…" she whispered.  
Unable to answer her question due to the shock he felt, he began to panic and stormed out, as Jean attempted to chase him, as she looked out into the corridor, Logan had already disappeared. Her body racing with mixed emotions, she exhaled and accepted defeat as she went back inside and looked through the mirror.  
Charles removed his hands, looking dishevelled and exhausted. He looked up at the mirror and nodded, knowing that Jean was looking back at him.  
 _"Logan saw everything…"_ She sighed quietly, knowing that he could hear her.  
"…and?" he asked, under his voice ensuring that Mallory would not prematurely wake up.  
 _"I think he's ready…"_ she mumbled. _"-His timeline is beginning to bleed through, but he panicked"  
_ "…alright, I'll speak to him. Did everything get extracted?" he asked.  
 _"Yes, everything…"_  
"Miss Howlett should wake up within the next ten minutes, please make sure she has water…I'm sure she'll be exhausted…there's a lot we need to discuss."  
 _"Yes Professor."_

* * *

 _I loved writing this chapter, it allowed me to provide so many feels and finally delve into Logan's past and his denial of his fatherhood.  
It also shows that his two timelines are bleeding through even stronger than before, to the point where he can recall what he said years before in his alternate timeline. _

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I've ALMOST finished part two of this story, and cannot wait to upload everything"  
Please read, review and follow this story!

MH x


	14. Training

A fortnight later, the atmosphere within the mansion had begun to shift with everyone feeling more apprehensive and tense. Classes had been cancelled until further notice which caused the students to automatically alter their focus onto the disappearance of Mallory, also becoming aware of the lack of adults within the school. Charles had locked himself away in his office as he analysed the information he had collected from his Mnemokinesis on Mallory, only mentioning the basics to the rest of the team – worried that if he divulged too much before he could prove it, rioting would commence.

The team gathered in the sub-floor meeting room every day, talking through how to strengthen security from Erik and to hold back the ever growing pressures of the media outside.  
"There's something I need to say…" Blink interrupted one morning, unable to ignore the weight on her shoulders any longer. She stood up from her chair as everyone looked up at her concerned.  
"I know where Mallory's been over the past few weeks…she hasn't been in her room…" she sighed. "She's been in the Training Room all day, every day…"  
"What, how?" snapped Scott irritated. "How has she been able to get in, I've deadlocked that room to anyone but us…"  
Pietro stood up next to Blink and lifted up his hand with a slight curl in his lips.  
"That would be me…" he stated. "But, we were told to try and be friends with her, she was dead set on going in there, so what could we do?"  
"She's going through every scenario and every possible enemy…she doesn't stop until the generator shuts down…and then she just leaves. She doesn't speak to us anymore…" Blink mumbled nervously, ringing her fingers in her hands.  
"She's been like this since her procedure with Charles" Jean responded to the group. "She's going to be remembering a lot more of her past, her emotions will be raw…I won't be surprised if this is her outlet, she needs something to focus on"  
"It's different though, it's not normal fighting…there's something else." Pietro's voice echoed. "It's like it isn't her, she changes. I don't think it's been her for a while."  
The group suddenly began to frown, confused and worried at the statement, they all looked to each other for some way of understanding but they were all lost.  
"Have you told Charles about this, about what you've seen?" asked Scott, rubbing his jaw with his fingers.  
"I tried, but he won't let anybody in…and I don't think Logan's ready for me to ask him for any advice on the situation…" Blink answered.  
"I'll have a look…" Storm sighed standing up and leaning on the table in front of her. "I'll just say that it's for her progression file, how well she's doing since her first training session. I'll place the cameras on too, just in case anything needs recording to help Charles."

That evening, Mallory waited until the corridors were silent before she paced towards the lift, ensuring her face was covered by her oversized hood. As she entered the lift, she looked down towards the keyhole for the subfloors. She lifted up her hand to it, seeing a blue aura encircling her hand and into the hole before a sound rang to accept it.  
The doors opened into the metal encased corridor and she came face to face with Storm, with her arms crossed and her lips pursed.  
"Miss Howlett, what a nice surprise!" gasped Storm sarcastically, raising her eyebrows.  
Mallory shook her head and rolled her eyes as she walked past Storm and towards the door to the Training Room, Storm spun on her heel and caught up with her.  
"Mallory, what's wrong…we haven't seen you around in weeks?" Storm asked softly, jumping in front of her as an obstacle. Mallory slowed to a halt and looked up at her with hurt in her eyes.  
"I can't sleep, I can't eat, I can't even think straight right now. I remember everything now, everything Eden did to me, everything my mum did…I need to forget about it" Mallory stated, pulling down her hood. "I'm not going to apologise for using the room without permission, but as long as I'm not _killing anybody_ "  
Storm chose to ignore Mallory's dig and sighed sympathetically, noticing that Mallory's eyes falter and forehead crinkle softly. Having an untrue rumour spreading through the school about being a murderer was clearly taking its toll more than Storm had thought.  
"Look, I need to update your progression file anyway. Let me do a fight drill on you and I won't tell anybody about your misdemeanours…" Storm asked, a curl forming on her lips as she attempted to cheer her up. She knew that everyone was already aware, but a small lie sometimes was necessary – she thought.  
Mallory looked up at her through her long, dark eyelashes and sighed in defeat.  
"I don't have any other choice do I?" she asked, continuing to walk.


	15. Apocalypse

As Storm expected, Mallory breezed through the first three levels of simulations, impressed by her effortless flying and fighting techniques. She had clearly earned her level six status through her capabilities of electrical field manipulation and electric constructs, which Storm found interesting as she had never come across someone who had such a broad range of power which could be used for each mutant and robot simulation as well as in each altered landscape simulation.  
"Next…" Mallory shouted out as the last simulation fell out of the sky and disappeared before it hit the ground. Storm looked down at the control panel in front of her as she had placed herself in the observatory above the training room, she twisted a dial a click to the right and an automated voice echoed through.

 _Level Four beginning in three, two…_

The landscape transformed into a city that had been left to ruin, with skyscrapers ablaze and thick smoke coating the ground. The heat from the buildings burnt against Mallory's face as she felt the energy of her power pulsating through her veins, she loved the rush it gave her and more recently she had begun to crave it more than ever. Remembering the years she had spent encased in what felt like a tomb helpless and repetitively abused in more ways than she could ever imagine, provided substance into her yearning for a chance to prove to herself that she was able to be more than just an experiment. She wanted to forget her vulnerability, her weaknesses, the pain that was currently taking hold of her heart and her head.  
Gradually, she detected the movements of a new animations both mutants and sentinels with an assortment of new and more difficult powers for her to combat. She grinned to herself as she elevated herself into the air and used her powers to create an electrical exoskeleton around her body as armour.  
The mutants came first, racing towards her from every direction. She threw a bolt down towards the ground which hit and then rippled out across the floor like a tidal wave, covering them and causing them all to collapse onto the floor, shaking violently as the electricity forced its way through their bodies.  
The heightening hum of the sentinels that were closing in on her echoed through her chest, she could count four of them although she could feel that there were more encroaching. She looked up at them and saw that they were at least thirty foot high, so she flew up so she had a better perception of them as she calculated imminently how she could defeat them, when suddenly she felt an unbearable sharp pain in her head and she felt herself get drawn back somehow, even though she was not moving.

At the point, Storm saw Mallory still remaining hovering above the sentinels but her arms were beginning to develop an illuminating blue skin and her eyes growing black. Her brow furrowing in concern as she allowed Mallory to continue - unaware of what was happening in Mallory's mind, until the control panel abruptly began to spark and the lights inside the observatory flashed and short-circuited.  
"What the hell…?" panicked Storm, as she covered her face to protect her from the sparks. She looked back through the glass to see Mallory's encircling her body with a blue aura that was growing larger and larger quickly, whilst lifting up her hands and throwing them to her side, causing the closest sentinel to be thrown into the sky like a ragdoll. Suddenly the aura expanded in a flash and caused all the sentinels and remaining mutants to disappear into tiny fragments.  
"Next!" Mallory growled loudly, but her voice was not her own. It was a deep, dark echoing voice that escaped her lips. The blue skin slowly developing down her legs and up towards her chest.  
"Something isn't right Mallory, we need to terminate now!" Storm shouted out over the sparks.  
"I said…next!" the voice boomed, shaking the training room and the observatory. But before Storm could answer, Mallory lifted up her hand towards the observatory and twisted her wrist, turning and breaking the dial that was on the control panel in front of Storm.

The simulations from the previous level reanimated and extra copies spawned around them, which caused Storm's heart to race as she knew that she herself would be incapable of anything of that quantity on her own, but Mallory's face remained placid as she raised her arms up into the air. The sound of electricity crackled around the landscape as the enemies surrounded her.  
The buttons on the control panels began to flash and a loud siren began to ring to warn the rest of the school above that it was getting severe. Storm attempted to fix it but was instantly thrown back as the electricity inside it shocked her.  
"Mallory stop now!" Storm shouted at the top of her voice, but knew that it was useless, as the blue skin was now reaching her neck.  
Just as the sentinels were about reach her, everything in the training room and observatory fell silent as the only noise was the power radiating from Mallory, the skin finally encasing her face. She leant backwards whilst still hovering in the hair and inhaled deeply as she roared out something that shook Storm to her core.

 ** _EN SABAH NUR._**

With that, everything in the room dissolved into atoms in a split second, as well as the radiating skin that was covering Mallory. The electricity that encircled her disappeared as her head fell back limply as she became unconscious. As her body began to fall lifelessly to the floor, the main doors opened and Jean lifted up her arms and halted her only a few feet off the floor before gently placing her down. Storm eventually appeared down in the training room, looking incredibly dishevelled with tiny grazes over her arms and face.  
She kneeled down next to Mallory, and brushed her matted brown hair out of her face.  
"What the hell happened?!" snapped Scott, appearing behind Jean as he looked around at the large black marks across the walls.  
"Pietro was right Scott…" Storm mumbled, her hands trembling as it began to set in what had happened. "It wasn't her…she changed halfway through – I saw it happen…it was so powerful"  
"Tell me about it, the whole school shook from it…" he sneered, quietly.  
As Hank came running in with Bobby and Colossus, Storm looked up at him and felt her chest tighten up as he looked down at her and gasped.  
"I think I know who it is…" she mumbled, as Hank met her eye line. He knew instantly who she was talking about and felt his body go cold in dread.

* * *

We have finally introduced Apocalypse!  
He is still in Mallory's subconscious, but we are beginning to see how he is easily able to take over her when using her powers.

Please read, review and follow this story - there are so many of you now and it gets me so excited to see how you guys think of it all :D

MH x


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